politics – Progress Nothing Lesshttp://progressnothingless.com
Your time is now!Tue, 26 Sep 2017 21:15:14 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.2Orrin Hatch just schooled the internet on the meaning of ‘shot their wad’http://progressnothingless.com/orrin-hatch-just-schooled-the-internet-on-the-meaning-of-shot-their-wad/
Tue, 08 Aug 2017 22:54:08 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4433Hey! It doesn't mean what you think it does. Image: REX/Shutterstock A Republican senator just used the term “shot their wad” and, um, the internet has some opinions. “Were not going back to health care. Were in tax now,” Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah told Politico. “As far as Im concerned, they shot their wad …

Of course, when the story first came out, many people thought the phrase “shot their wad” had sexual undertones. Slate pointed out that it can be slang for ejaculating.

Okay.

But no, that’s definitely not what he was talking about, Hatch said. And with a bit of humor, he made it clear on Twitter.

… here’s a valuable jargon lesson on ‘wads’ and the shooting of them

“As few of you were alive during the Civil War, here’s a valuable jargon lesson on ‘wads’ and the shooting of them,” he wrote, while sharing a screenshot of the definition of “wads” and “to shoot one’s wad.”

Turns out, “to shoot one’s wad” also means “to do all that one can do.”

And the meaning of “wads?”

“A plug of tow, cloth, etc., a disk of felt or cardboard, to retain the powder and shot in position in charging a gun or cartridge.”

]]>Ava DuVernay’s tweet pays homage to Michelle Obama’s slave ancestorhttp://progressnothingless.com/ava-duvernays-tweet-pays-homage-to-michelle-obamas-slave-ancestor/
Mon, 07 Aug 2017 11:12:20 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4385Image: Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s family sure has come a long way in five generations. American filmmaker and Selma director Ava DuVernay shared a compelling tweet paying tribute to the former First Lady’s great-great-great grandmother, Melvinia “Mattie” Shields McGruder, who was born a slave in South Carolina in 1844. …

Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s family sure has come a long way in five generations.

American filmmaker and Selma director Ava DuVernay shared a compelling tweet paying tribute to the former First Lady’s great-great-great grandmother, Melvinia “Mattie” Shields McGruder, who was born a slave in South Carolina in 1844.

DuVernay tweeted: “Become your ancestor’s wildest dreams.” The inscription on the tombstone states that, at age six, Mattie was brought to the Shields farm, located in what is now the community of Rex, in Georgia’s Clayton County.

Decades later, Mattie’s great-great-great granddaughter, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, not only went to Princeton University but also earned her law degree from Harvard University before going on to become the 44th First Lady of the United States of America.

The story of Black America is one of strength, faith, and constant endurance. Still striving, but we have a lot to be proud of. https://t.co/fUhx0HnmhS

It’s only a matter of time before Malia and Sasha Obama continue to hold up this upward line of endurance and success, and make their great-great-great-great grandma Shields a proud lady. No pressure, girls.

]]>Trump shouldn’t have messed with Lisa Murkowskihttp://progressnothingless.com/trump-shouldnt-have-messed-with-lisa-murkowski/
Sat, 05 Aug 2017 20:57:24 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4347Sen. Lisa Murkowski sits behind President Donald Trump at a meeting on health care, at the White House. Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock When the latest Republican attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act failed in late July, President Donald Trump could have called out any of the three GOP senators who killed the effort. He …

Murkowski responded later that day on CNN, but her response was a mostly mild statement about being focused on her constituents and the work ahead.

But a few folks noticed that, just before the Senate went into August recess, Murkowski closed the chamber’s business by announcing that the Senate would hold “pro forma” sessions every few days in August. Pro forma sessions are a procedural motion that prevents the president from appointing anyone during the recess month to a position that would normally require confirmation by the Senate. The motion passed without a dissenting vote.

The move is a blatant rebuke to Trump’s authority, but Murkowski says she only did it because she “asked to read the final orders” as a “courtesy” since she was on the Senate floor, and Democrats “would not agree to adjourn without them.”

The pro forma sessions come amid some fear that he might fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions and try to appoint someone who would then fire special counsel Robert Mueller, the man in charge of investigating the Trump administration’s ties with the Russian government. The attorney general has recused himself from investigations into possible Trump-Moscow collusion, as he aided the Trump campaign on its way to the White House.

The pro-forma sessions mean a Republican senator will have to show up to the Senate once every few days to briefly preside over a chamber of one, before heading out.

]]>Trump was super critical of presidential vacations, but now he’s taking his ownhttp://progressnothingless.com/trump-was-super-critical-of-presidential-vacations-but-now-hes-taking-his-own/
Fri, 04 Aug 2017 21:28:33 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4317Have a nice trip, see you in 17 days. Image: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Trump needs a breather. It’s been a grueling nearly eight months getting so much done in office and D.C. is practically dead in August anyway. So he might as well head to his favorite place, his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. …

Trump needs a breather. It’s been a grueling nearly eight months getting so much done in office and D.C. is practically dead in August anyway. So he might as well head to his favorite place, his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. We hear it’s anything but a dump there.

This isn’t just a long weekend, but a 17-day break from the White House. He jets off Friday and will return on Aug. 21. The getaway does coincide with some White House repair work, but still.

Trump has taken plenty of breaks already and he’s barely been in office for 200 days. The Associated Press reports that he’s been away from the Oval Office 13 of the 28 weekends since inauguration. He’s taken several golf trips to his resorts in Florida and his beloved Bedminster. It’s been a lot of golf.

Strange behavior for a man who wrote in his 2004 book, “Don’t take vacations.”

“Don’t take vacations. What’s the point? If you’re not enjoying your work, you’re in the wrong job.” Think Like A Billionaire

The online response to Trump’s vacation plans was swift and ruthless. People fell over themselves to remind him of his vocal vacation snubbing over the years (mostly directed at his predecessor, Barack Obama).

Remember these tweets? Or these comments? Trump spent so much time tweeting about Obama, “the habitual vacationer.”

@BarackObama played golf yesterday. Now he heads to a 10 day vacation in Martha’s Vineyard. Nice work ethic.

]]>The White House reading letters from kids stroking Trump’s ego is a new lowhttp://progressnothingless.com/the-white-house-reading-letters-from-kids-stroking-trumps-ego-is-a-new-low/
Fri, 04 Aug 2017 01:32:11 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4293Politicians using kids to improve their image is nothing new, but the White House’s current technique is gross. In an attempt to shine a positive light on Trump after weeks of controversy the failed GOP health care bills, Anthony Scaramucci’s foul mouth, Russia, Russia, Russia the White House communications team has been reading letters that …

Politicians using kids to improve their image is nothing new, but the White House’s current technique is gross.

In an attempt to shine a positive light on Trump after weeks of controversy the failed GOP health care bills, Anthony Scaramucci’s foul mouth, Russia, Russia, Russia the White House communications team has been reading letters that stroke the president’s ego during press briefings. Sure, politicians have meet and greets with kids all the time, but using a kid’s letter to say, “hey, people like President Trump” is a gross waste of everyone’s time.

And before we get into the nitty-gritty of these letters, which have now been featured two times in as many weeks, let’s get this out of the way: Obama also leveraged lettersfrom kids for political points. But those letters were meant to further a policy agenda if you’re against that kind of strategy too, that’s understandable while the letters cherrypicked by the Trump team just praise Trump.

“To remind us a little bit more often about some of the forgotten men, women, and children that we’re here to serve and the president is fighting for,” White House Spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders explained last week, “we’re going to start the White House briefing every once in a while with a letter or an email we may receive from some of those emails.”

Trump wished the boy a happy birthday, and invited him to spend a morning with the White House groundskeeper, Sanders said.

The White House receiving and responding to letters from the kids of America is somewhat of a tradition, but those letters don’t need to be read at the press briefing.

‘You seem really nice, can we be friends?

While Sanders left this new letter-reading practice open to hear from all Americans, we haven’t heard from anyone but kids. And using children to distract from the most recent scandal or firing is low, even for Trump.

The White House maintains the kid’s anonymity in order to protect them. But in doing so it also cast’s doubt on the letter’s authenticity.

People questioned both Pickle and Frank’s letters, and given the language used in both, it’s hard to imagine a kid wrote the letter all by themselves. President Trump has made up people to boast his good image in the past, what’s stopping him from doing it now?

While the letters may be heartwarming at face, why should we care what a 10-year-old thinks of the president? They’re 10 it’s safe to assume the majority of their opinions are just relayed from their parents.

Instead of reading letters from kids, the press secretary could try answering questions from the press, instead of avoiding them.

]]>With Scaramucci firing, Trump administration is more ‘Game of Thrones’ than ‘Game of Thrones’http://progressnothingless.com/with-scaramucci-firing-trump-administration-is-more-game-of-thrones-than-game-of-thrones/
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 00:36:26 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4233Immolating dragons vs. the self-immolating Mooch? No contest. Image: HBO/rex/shutterstock Over on Earth 2, that mythical place where Hillary Clinton’s popular vote victory was enough to propel her to the White House, I like to think alternate universe me is having a fine old time watching and theorizing about season 7 of Game of Thrones. …

After all, in that parallel reality, politics likely has nothing to offer save a GOP Congress at loggerheads with a President Clinton on every damn issue. I spent most of the 1990s watching that show and have no desire to see it again. Bring on the giant dragons!

But here in this world, alas, I find my Thrones fandom keeps taking a backseat to the unprecedented sh*tshow currently on display in Washington, D.C. Try as it might to monopolize our attention, the best show on HBO just can’t keep up with reality.

For example: On Sunday night Tyrion Lannister sent Daenerys Targaryen’s Unsullied army to attack Casterly Rock, confirming a fan theory that he would take the Lannister seat of power via its sewers. But in a strategic masterstroke, Jaime Lannister had withdrawn his forces and attacked Highgarden instead where House Tyrell’s Queen of Thorns drank poison and told Jaime she was responsible for the death of his son.

After a self-aggrandizing interview in which he accused Steve Bannon of fellating himself, this weird Wall Street walk-on character got the White House Chief of Staff fired only to be divorced by his wife on Friday and fired by the new boss on Monday.

When news of the Mooch’s firing 10 days into his new job hit Twitter, suddenly no one was talking about the Highgarden maneuver anymore.

This backstabbing to end all backstabbings seemed almost calculated to appeal to Thrones fans. Better yet, according to one reporter, new Chief of Staff John Kelly drove the knife in specifically because he wanted the White House to be less Game of Thrones-esque:

For fans of political theater, whether in Washington or Westeros, it just doesn’t get better than this.

In one week of screen time, Queen Daenerys had three meetings. Don’t get me wrong, they were great meetings, all of them! Highly anticipated! Well-scripted, well acted by all! But the current administration laughs at that kind of low-level drama.

Even leaving aside the Scaramucci sub-plot, here’s what the Trump admin gave us in a single week: a chief diplomat missing in action. An increasingly unhinged leader threatening his own Attorney General while telling thousands of Boy Scouts about an orgy on a yacht before encouraging police officers to be more abusive. All of which was after his son-in-law’s press conference regarding the Russian collusion investigation that has consumed the White House.

And all that paled next to what happened in the Senate, where a dying old warhorse served cold revenge on the president, killing his White Walker-like healthcare legislation with the Senatorial equivalent of dragonglass.

“Watch the show,” John McCain said, and we couldn’t do anything but. His Senate drama made the Red Wedding look like regular nuptials with a forgettable Instagram hashtag.

It has become commonplace to compare Trump himself to the late, unlamented King Joffrey. George R.R. Martin was not the first to make that comparison two months ago, nor was he the last. It’s an obvious comparison: both are tactless and impulsive and cruel and childish.

But it also sells his character short, because Trump is also this tremendously ineffective, narcissistic old buffoon with daddy-daughter issues. Call him King Joffrey meets King Lear perhaps with a touch of Macbeth thrown in, if Macbeth kept stabbing himself in the back.

It is no shame to Martin, or Game of Thrones‘ showrunners, to say that their characters are not able to keep pace with the full insanity of America’s current leadership. I doubt even Shakespeare could fully encompass a character this psychologically (and psychotically) complex.

Ultimately, what we’re seeing is the best proof of the cliche that truth is stranger than fiction. You can’t write characters like Trump or the Mooch; nobody would believe it. A plot like the increasingly jaw-dropping Russian collusion story would be thrown out of the Veep writers’ room, let alone that of West Wing.

Here’s hoping the Washington drama cools off a little and doesn’t step on Thrones‘ late August finale. But given that coincides with Trump’s opportunity to fire Jeff Sessions and install an Attorney General who will end Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump’s connection with Russia, I wouldn’t bet on it. The wildest plot twists, alas, may be yet to come.

Earth 2, you’re missing a hell of a show. Also, any time you guys want to swap places, just let us know.

]]>Tomi Lahren is still on her parents’ healthcare thanks to Obamacarehttp://progressnothingless.com/tomi-lahren-is-still-on-her-parents-healthcare-thanks-to-obamacare/
Tue, 01 Aug 2017 20:40:49 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4227Chelsea Handler and Tomi Lahren speak during an appearance at Politicon 2017. Image: Getty Images Though Tomi Lahren is vocal proponent for repealing Obamacare, don’t say it never provided anything for her. The conservative political commentator and former TV host for Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze sat down with comedian Chelsea Handler at Politicon to discuss their …

]]>Chelsea Handler and Tomi Lahren speak during an appearance at Politicon 2017.

Image: Getty Images

Though Tomi Lahren is vocal proponent for repealing Obamacare, don’t say it never provided anything for her.

The conservative political commentator and former TV host for Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze sat down with comedian Chelsea Handler at Politicon to discuss their differing political views this weekend. Naturally the conversation turned to health care, during which Lahren revealed that she benefits from a key Obamacare policy.

Handler: “OK, so do you have a health care plan or no?”

Lahren: “Well luckily I am 24, so I am still on my parents’.”

Lahren is, of course, referencing the Affordable Care Act policy that allows young adults under the age of 26 to remain on their parents’ health care plans.

When Lahren’s admission was met with groans from the audience and shouts of “Thanks, Obama,” Handler defended her guest: “Stop, stop, stop she’s being honest.”

Lahren went on to argue that, actually, there are some tenets of Obamacare that are “positive,” the ability to stay on a parent’s health care being one of them.

“I think that one thing we can agree on is that Obamacare in a death spiral,” she said.

“It’s in a death spiral because it’s being sabotaged by the President of the United States,” Handler countered. “A decent human being would say OK let’s do whatever we can to make the system in place work and thrive.”

]]>All the stuff in my fridge that lasted longer than Reince Priebushttp://progressnothingless.com/all-the-stuff-in-my-fridge-that-lasted-longer-than-reince-priebus/
Sun, 30 Jul 2017 03:27:44 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4146Rience Priebus is out as White House chief of staff, the shortest tenure in the history of the presidency. It’s the kind of thing that really makes you think. It made me immediately think about all the things in my fridge that have been there longer than Priebus’ seven months working for President Donald Trump. …

]]>Rience Priebus is out as White House chief of staff, the shortest tenure in the history of the presidency.

It’s the kind of thing that really makes you think. It made me immediately think about all the things in my fridge that have been there longer than Priebus’ seven months working for President Donald Trump.

Here’s an incomplete list:

Cholula

Image: Flickr/mike mozart

I cannot cook, so it’s necessary to have tasty hot sauce. It has been there since November, when I made some particularly bland rice. It has a particularly heated relationship with the French’s mustard, which has been agitating for its removal.

French’s mustard

Image: flickr/mike mozart

I never use more than a medium-sized dollop of mustard on anything, so a nice bottle of French’s will last me for quite a while. I think my current bottle is from last July 4 when we had a cookout. It has been pushing for a serious restructuring of the entire condiments shelf.

Thing of olives

I love olives, but I forget about them in my fridge.

The French’s mustard thinks they’re “ethnic food” and shouldn’t be allowed to stay in the fridge.

Image: Ceresb/flickr

Everything in the freezer

It’s a mess in there. I think there’s stuff from the people who used to rent this apartment before me.

Image: tom baugis/flickr

Kikkoman soy sauce

Don’t even get me started on what the French’s thinks of the soy sauce.

]]>John McCain, ever the political dramatist, has always understood the value of TV comedyhttp://progressnothingless.com/john-mccain-ever-the-political-dramatist-has-always-understood-the-value-of-tv-comedy/
Sun, 30 Jul 2017 01:13:26 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4143Senator John McCain came to his senses Friday morning and joined his Republican colleagues Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins in voting no on a “skinny” repeal of the Affordable Care Act. In the past five days, Murkowski and Collins have consistently voted against measures to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, McCain voted yes …

Despite this, McCain’s getting much of the credit, due in part to his flare for the dramatic. On his way into the Senate chambers, McCain urged reporters to “watch the show.” And later, as he stood to vote, he extended a flat palm and paused before twisting his hand into a thumbs down. CNN called it, “John McCain’s maverick moment.”

McCain has long known the value of combining politics with entertainment, especially in the realm of late night television. Always up for a little late-night mocking, he’s aware that moments like these can help humanize politicians and manipulate press.

In the last 20 years he’s appeared on Saturday Night Live (once to host), nearly all of the late night network shows and, per the Los Angeles Times, was one Jon Stewart’s most frequent Daily Show guests in the early 2000s.

]]>Hey Trump, Viagra costs Pentagon 5 times as much as trans serviceshttp://progressnothingless.com/hey-trump-viagra-costs-pentagon-5-times-as-much-as-trans-services/
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 22:06:14 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4080Viagra costs the military a pretty penny, but no bans have been announced on the erectile dysfunction drug. Image: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images President Donald Trump says his ban on trans people in the military is cost-based, but no one’s buying it after Twitter pounced on this data nugget: the Pentagon spends more on Viagra than …

]]>Viagra costs the military a pretty penny, but no bans have been announced on the erectile dysfunction drug.

Image: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

President Donald Trump says his ban on trans people in the military is cost-based, but no one’s buying it after Twitter pounced on this data nugget: the Pentagon spends more on Viagra than trans medical services.

The Washington Post took a Military TimesU.S. Department of Defense spending analysis from 2015 and found that erectile dysfunction drugs cost the military a lot. Like $84.24 million a lot.

Spending on Viagra alone was $41.6 million in 2014. That’s five times what a 2016 Rand study estimates transgender health care costs the military between $2.4 and $8.4 million a year, according to the Washington Post.

These numbers put things into perspective, as many noted on Twitter. Looks like Trump was just spinning when he noted in his three-tweet announcement of the ban Wednesday morning that the military “cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption” of trans service members.

The American Medical Association also issued a statement saying that the financial cost “is a rounding error in the defense budget and should not be used as an excuse to deny patriotic Americans an opportunity to serve their country.”

But there’s more. The real reason for the trans ban appears to be political vote jockeying.

But here’s the cherry on top, purportedly: Wednesday’s sudden announcement came after Trump was apparently trying to protect funding for the Mexican border wall construction in some delicate political maneuvering.

But Trump doesn’t do delicate. Instead, he’s discriminating against people fighting for the country and spinning them as the costly burden.